Annie's Story

Chapter twenty five

With slow steps I follow my stylist. Tears are coming up again, but it's not the time to cry. It's time to be strong. I promised Finnick I would win, so that's what will happen. My stylist leads me into a hoovercraft, where I get to sit next to a girl with long brown hair and a boy with blonde hair. Everyone seems really tensed and no one is really paying attention to each other. Felix seems not to be here... Someone grabs my arm and puts a needle into it. I bite my lip trying not to show the pain.

I get taken into a room by my stylist, the outfit I'm wearing isn't that warm. So I suppose it's going to be hot in the Arena. "Annie, good luck hunny, you can do it." My stylist says while he gives me a wink. I nod and with a focussed look on my face I step onto a plate. A wall of glass appears around me.

I rise up in my tube and narrow my eyes to see. A bright sun is shining down on me, I already feel like I'm burning. I'm standing on an open spot, and around the spot are all kinds of ways to go. High walls of bushes... Ways to go... It's a maze.

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I scan the open spot and see Felix, he's four tributes away from me. He looks at me and mouths something. I have no idea what it was. Nervously I look at the Cornucopia, seeing an axe and a bag right in front of me. They are mine.

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And the gong goes! With all of my speed I run towards the bag and the axe. I throw the bag over my shoulder and grab the axe. "Felix!" I scream while I start running away from the Cornucopia. For some reason no one is paying attention to me. Except the boy from District four. "Run!" He screams while he grabs my free hand and pulls me into one opening in the high bushes. He runs way too fast for me, but I try to keep up with him. My head is pounding and my heart feels like it's going to explode. The fear of the death is already killing me inside. Felix runs and runs, still holding my hand. Struggling I follow him through the maze. We almost bump into a dead end.

That night, after we ran all day without saying a word to each other, Felix suddenly stops. His chest is moving fast just like mine. I gasp for breath, the run was hard for me. Felix looks at me and lets go of my hand. It hurts a bit since he hold it really tightly. "Are you alright?" He asks a bit worried. "Yes, don't worry about me." I tell him still having trouble to breathe properly. "Don't worry? We are in a game where people are getting killed. Don't tell me not to worry." He says while he rubs the back of his head. "What's in your bag?" I grab the bag of my back and open it. It contains a bottle of water, a little pack of cookies and a blanket. "Looks good. Okay, I have a bag with pretty much the same things, except the blanket." The temperature is getting lower already. In my thin clothes I start to shiver a bit. Felix looks at me with a concerned look upon his face. "Are you cold?" I nod slowly. He grabs the blanket and puts it gently around my shoulders. "This might be better." He whispers in my ear. A shiver goes through me. Finnick must be watching this... "Yes it is, thank you." I say while I step away from him. Felix looks puzzled and frowns. "There's something wrong, isn't it?" I bite my lip. "I don't know." He comes closer to me again and grabs my hair in his hands. "Oh, you do know. Why are you lying to me Annie?" I want to slap his hands away, to say I love Finnick, but I can't. I can't hurt Felix that way, I can't tell everyone I'm in love with my mentor. "I can't... Felix I'm sorry." I say while I look at his shoes. They are black. "You don't want to be with me? That's it right? Okay then, if you don't like me, I'll go." He says while he lets go of my hair. He grabs his back and his sword. "No! No! Wait! That's not what I want!" He turns around. "What do you want then? What do you want to happen?" I'm sure, I'm really sure the camera's are aimed on us right now. The Capitol love these kind of things. "I want... I want you to stay with me." I tell him honestly. Nervously I look at him. "Stay with you? In what way Annie?" His voice sounds cold, but there's also some kind of desperation hidden  into it. "Any way you want." I whisper. I can't lose Felix, he means too much to me. Felix drops all of his stuff out of his hands and almost runs towards me, pressing his lips onto mine. He puts his arms around my waist and pulls me closer. Surprised I go along with the kiss, wrapping my arms around his neck. The kiss seems to last for minutes, but I have no idea how much time has past. I let go of Felix and look at him, feeling sorry and happy at the same time. What did I just do?! I kissed Felix! What about Finnick?!